You cannot give enlightenment, you can point to it, but you cannot give it. Enlightenment is something that each individual has to realise for themselves. If you could give enlightenment the Buddhas, out of their boundless compassion, would have already given it to every single sentient being.

purestsoul wrote:The only GIft worth giving to your wife, husband, children, parents, siblings, and all those whom you care about is not money. ...The only Gift worth giving is not the 50 inch LCD television or the $5000 macintosh laptop.

That macintosh laptop is a tool for acquiring knowledge, and can be a vehicle of the Dharma for someone - so it could be like giving enlightenment.

You cannot give someone enlightenment. Awakening is rare. A Buddha or great sage can point the way and remove obstacles so a person who is quiet, ripe and receptive will understand.A guru I went to see years ago had a number of foreign followers. A European woman asked a question and the guru replied 'You smell, why are you living in the graveyard?''You stink of the graveyard!' The woman looked offended and then the teacher paused, smiled and explained. If you live in the past 'you live in the graveyard' Be in the present, be in the now! This is a powerful pointer to realisation.